Washington, January 3. A wave of violence that left 16 people dead and many others injured marred the 2025 New Year celebrations in different places across the US.
In the early hours of January 1, 2025, a vehicle-ramming attack took place on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. The assailant, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former US Army veteran from Houston, Texas, drove a rented Ford pickup truck into a crowd of revelers, resulting in 15 fatalities and injuring approximately 35 others.
After crashing the vehicle, Jabbar exited and engaged in a shootout with police officers, during which he was fatally shot. Two officers sustained injuries but were reported to be in stable condition.
Prior to the attack, Jabbar had posted videos on social media expressing a “desire to kill” and claiming to be inspired by Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. An IS flag and explosives were found in his vehicle, leading the FBI to classify the incident as an act of terrorism. Though a wide-ranging probe has been launched to determine any potential connections to terrorist organisations, initial findings suggest Jabbar acted alone.
The white Ford F-150 Lightning light-duty truck used in the attack had been rented using Turo, and had been observed in Humble, Texas, on the morning before the attack. Later that day, the truck was observed in Baytown, Texas, heading east on Interstate 10 toward New Orleans.
Eyewitnesses blamed the city and reported that steel barricades installed to prevent vehicular access were not raised before the attack, though New Orleans Police superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said that police were aware these malfunctioned sometimes and instead used other barricades. Originally, special barricades that stopped cars were put on streets, but were taken for repairs in preparation for the Sugar Bowl, a major college football game, that was scheduled for night of January 1. The Sugar Bowl was postponed due to security reasons.
US President Joe Biden condemned the attack as “despicable” and “odious”, expressing support for the victims and their families. President-elect Donald Trump also addressed the incident, criticising current immigration policies and emphasising the need for stringent security measures.
On the same day, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. While seven bystanders were injured, the vehicle’s sole occupant died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head immediately prior to the explosion.
Authorities found that the truck contained firework mortars and gas canisters, material used for the explosion and fire ignition. Authorities identified the driver and perpetrator as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, an American-born, active-duty United States Army Special Forces soldier from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was on leave for a duty abroad. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently investigating the incident as a possible terrorist attack.
The FBI initially investigated the explosion in conjunction with the New Orleans vehicle attack but later stated that they could find “no definitive link” between the two.
However, billionaire and Tesla founder Elon Musk claimed that the Cybertruck explosion was an act of terrorism. He said that the electric vehicle’s design minimised the blast’s impact, sparing the hotel from significant damage.
“The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken,” Musk posted on X.
In yet another incident, in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York City, four individuals opened fire on a queue of people outside a music venue on January 1 night, wounding ten. The suspects are currently at large, and the New York Police Department is actively investigating the case.
“Last night in Queens, a memorial for a teen lost to gun violence turned to horror when gunmen opened fire on the crowd, including several young people who are now hospitalized,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said. “This cannot be our normal. We are working with authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Though these incidents are seemingly unlinked, speculations are rife about the timing. All three incidents happened ahead of Donald Trump assuming office as US President later this month.
